Austen Chat

• Jane Austen & Gentlemen: A Visit with Brett McKay

  “There is one thing, Emma, which a man can always do, if he chooses, and that is his duty." —Mr. KnightleyWe believe Jane Austen is for everyone, but it’s no secret that her modern fanbase is predominantly female. But why is that, and what might men be missing? Brett McKay joins us in this episode to share how he first discovered Austen’s work and why more men should read her books. Along the way, we touch on Austen's Aristotelian ideas of virtue, the qualities that make a good man, the importance of choosing the right spouse, and how reading her works can help everyone become the best version of themselves.Brett McKay is the founder of The Art of Manliness, a website and podcast dedicated to helping men “grow up well, reach their potential, and become better friends, mentors, husbands, fathers, and citizens.” Since 2008 he has interviewed hundreds of authors and scholars on a wide range of subjects, from philosophy to weight-lifting, dinner-party planning to hostage negotiation. In 2023, he interviewed Austen scholar John Mullan in an episode entitled “Jane Austen for Dudes.” For a transcript and show notes, visit https://jasna.org/austen/podcast/ep25/.*********Visit our website: www.jasna.orgFollow us on Instagram and FacebookSubscribe to the podcast on our YouTube channelEmail: [email protected]

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• Jane Austen & Shakespeare: A Visit with Mary Floyd-Wilson

  "'The course of true love never did run smooth'—A Hartfield edition of Shakespeare would have a long note on that passage.” —EmmaShakespeare's influence on Jane Austen can be seen throughout her novels and letters. She quotes him, mimics him, and echoes him in fascinating ways. In this episode, Professor Mary Floyd-Wilson helps us unpack and examine the many parallels between these two pillars of English literature. Mary Floyd-Wilson is the Mann Distinguished Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She specializes in Shakespeare and early modern literature, with works including English Ethnicity and Race in Early Modern Drama and Occult Knowledge, Science, and Gender on the Shakespearean Stage. Recently, she received the George H. Johnson Prize for Distinguished Achievement from the Institute for the Arts and Humanities. For a transcript and show notes, visit https://jasna.org/austen/podcast/ep24/.*********Visit our website: www.jasna.orgFollow us on Instagram and FacebookSubscribe to the podcast on our YouTube channelEmail: [email protected]

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• Jane Austen in America: A Visit with Juliette Wells

  Jane Austen has had devoted American admirers since her works were first published. In fact, several Americans played a crucial role in preserving and promoting her legacy. Joining us to explore Austen’s reputation and reception in America is Professor Juliette Wells, a leading expert on the subject, who will also share the story of avid Austen collector Alberta H. Burke and preview some of the Austen treasures set to be displayed at the Morgan Library’s upcoming exhibit A Lively Mind: Jane Austen at 250, for which she is guest co-curator.Juliette Wells, Professor of Literary Studies at Goucher College, is the author of Reading Austen in America (2017), Everybody's Jane: Austen in the Popular Imagination (2011), and most recently, A New Jane Austen: How Americans Brought Us the World’s Greatest Novelist (2023). She has edited the 200th-anniversary editions of Persuasion and Emma for Penguin Classics, with a new edition of Mansfield Park slated for release later this year. A former JASNA Traveling Lecturer, Dr. Wells is a regular speaker at the society’s Annual General Meetings. She is also the guest co-curator for the upcoming exhibition A Lively Mind: Jane Austen at 250 at the Morgan Library and Museum, which will run from June 6 to September 14, 2025, in celebration of Austen’s milestone birthday.For a transcript and show notes, visit https://jasna.org/austen/podcast/ep23/.*********Visit our website: www.jasna.orgFollow us on Instagram and FacebookSubscribe to the podcast on our YouTube channelEmail: [email protected]

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• The Women Writers Who Inspired Austen: A Visit with Rebecca Romney

  "I have made up my mind to like no novels really but Miss Edgeworth's, yours, and my own."  —Jane Austen to her niece, Anna Lefroy, 1814Jane Austen’s novels and letters are strewn with references to the female authors she admired—writers like Maria Edgeworth, Ann Radcliffe, and Charlotte Lennox. But these novelists, despite their wide popularity in their own time, have largely disappeared from our bookshelves. In this episode, rare book dealer Rebecca Romney shares some of their stories, examines their influence on Austen, and may even inspire you to add some of Austen’s favorites to your own to-be-read list. Rebecca Romney is a rare book dealer and the cofounder of Type Punch Matrix, a Washington, DC-area rare book firm. Over the course of her career, she has sold Shakespeare folios, first editions of Newton's Principia Mathematica and Darwin's Origin of Species, and individual leaves from the Gutenberg Bible. The author of several books, her latest is Jane Austen's Bookshelf: A Rare Book Collector's Quest to Find the Women Writers Who Shaped a Legend. She is also the rare books specialist on the HISTORY Channel’s show Pawn Stars.For a transcript and show notes, visit https://jasna.org/austen/podcast/ep21/.*********Visit our website: www.jasna.orgFollow us on Instagram and FacebookSubscribe to the podcast on our YouTube channelEmail: [email protected]

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• Jane Austen & Her Playlist: A Visit with Laura Klein

  "I do not think I can live without something of a musical society. . . . without music, life would be a blank to me."  —EmmaThough these words are spoken by the shallow and pretentious Mrs. Elton, the sentiment is one that Jane Austen herself likely shared. Austen played the pianoforte throughout her life and often incorporated music into her novels. In this episode, we chat with pianist Laura Klein about the music Austen and her family knew and loved and discuss how she used it in her writing to drive plots, reveal character traits, and provide emotional outlets for her heroines.Laura Klein is a pianist and historical musicologist. Her current research centers on the music contained in the Austen Family Music Books collection. She founded The Jane Austen Playlist in 2019, a historical music project that features the music of the Austen family in digitized notations, companion recordings, and dramatically narrated performances. An active performer and presenter, she gives frequent concerts and lecture recitals online, throughout the United States, and in the United Kingdom, including Jane Austen’s House and Chawton House.For a transcript and show notes, visit https://jasna.org/austen/podcast/ep21/.*********Visit our website: www.jasna.orgFollow us on Instagram and FacebookSubscribe to the podcast on our YouTube channelEmail: [email protected]

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